The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said he wanted to get a ceased with immediate fire during the expected summit with the Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska, set for tonight at 21 Italian hours. Trump explained that “I want a fire quickly. I don’t know if it will be today, but I won’t be happy if it won’t be today”, underlining that the topic remains one of his priorities in the planned meetings. The Summit in Alaska includes bilateral meetings, enlarged negotiations and will end with a final press conference.
The edged to the EU
On the flight to the summit, Trump said: “Europe does not tell me what to do, but it will certainly be involved in the process, just as Zelensky will be”. The American president added that his requests to Putin do not depend on the pressure of European partners. Trump said he wants to see concrete signals from Moscow and has not excluded to abandon the summit if he does not receive them.
The Ultimate Ultimatum in Putin and the threats of new penalties
The position of Ukraine and European leaders
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the priority for interviews is the ceased, underlining the importance of Kiev’s participation in any negotiation concerning Ukraine. In a press conference with the German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Zelensky said: “Today we talked about ceased fire. President Trump said this is one of his priorities in conversation with President Putin”. Merz reiterated that European leaders aim first at one ceasefire, then to a framework agreement and finally to possible negotiations on territorial issues, starting from the contact line.
Zelensky, turning to Trump after a phone call, said: “Putin is bluffing by saying that the sanctions do not work, that they are nothing. In reality the penalties are hitting the Russian economy hard”. Trump confirmed that he will meet Putin without the direct presence of Zelensky or European leaders, but he added that the interview in Alaska serves as a preparation for a second meeting in which the Ukrainian president could also participate.
The expectation of The Donald
Trump said that if the Alaska summit will end with progress, there will be a second meeting with the participation of Zelensky. The US president said he wanted to “set the table for a second summit”, which could be organized “almost immediately” after the first face to face with Putin. Zelensky confirmed: “The President of the United States spoke of it several times. He told me that after meeting Alaska we would have put in touch and we would discuss all the results, if there had been, and determined our next steps”.
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